Can this really happen in a modern nation state? Better believe it:

Nearly 3,000 so-called honour attacks were recorded by police in Britain last year, new research has revealed.

According to figures obtained by the Iranian and Kurdish Women's Rights Organisation (Ikwro), at least 2,823 incidents of 'honour-based' violence took place, with the highest number recorded in London.

The charity said the statistics fail to provide the full picture of the levels of 'honour' violence in the UK , but are the best national estimate so far.

The data, taken from from 39 out of 52 UK forces, was released following a freedom of information request by Ikwro.

In total, eight police forces recorded more than 100 so called honour-related attacks in 2010.

I don't know of any other word to describe this; it's an epidemic.

The police are saying that "Honour-based violence cuts across all cultures, nationalities and faith groups - it is a worldwide problem." This is nonsense. It is not a problem for Christians in the industrialized world nor is it a problem in Hasidic or other strict Jewish communities.

It is a huge problem in Muslim communities. And it is apparent that the authorities are powerless to stop it.

Educating current and potential victims on where and how to seek help might be the best response at this point. Longer term, unless the nations of Europe wake up and begin to assimilate their massive Islamic populations, the problem is going to get worse.